Pablo Escobar’s Former Colombian Estate Now a Tourist Haven

According to an AOL News report, Hacienda Napoles, once the place where notorious drug kingpin Pablo Escobar and his henchman committed crimes, now welcomes tourists who sunbathe by the pools and children who play among the concrete dinosaurs Escobar erected years ago. Last year, the park's first, more than 50,000 people visited, NPR reported.

The estate covers more than eight square miles. It is about 200 miles from Bogota, the nation's capital. Instead of drug runners and kingpins, the estate now entertains tourists with butterflies, horse stables, swimming pools, the aforementioned hippos and a memorial to Escobar. The Hacienda Napoles website said it employs 250 people, with another 1,000 indirectly employed— a large number in a country still wracked by poverty.